1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for aiding surgeons while performing operations such as ear, nose, and throat operations, and more particularly to devices for dampening uncontrolled movement of surgical instruments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various devices are known for preventing damage to the ear during surgery. A device for preventing hazards during a myringotomy or a similar operations is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,020,912. The device includes a battery-powered motor for providing rotary motion to a surgical knife through a set of drive gears. The operation of this device is complicated because of the motor drive and the gearing. Moreover, it is bulky because of the addition of a battery pack for powering the motor.
During ear surgery, the foregoing device is attached to an ear speculum at its wide funnel-shaped opening. The surgical knife extends therethrough and projects out of the tapered end of the speculum into the ear. The surgical knife is supported by a plurality of ball bearings to prevent wobble and friction. One of the plurality of bearings is mounted on the inner wall of the speculum. This bearing is semi-circular in shape and forms a cradle to support the rotating surgical blade and to prevent the blade from wobbling.
Although the motor-driven surgical knife is functional and prevents wobble, it is not cost effective because of the need for batteries, a motor, and associated gearings, bearings, and complicated attachments. Furthermore, the device is too expensive to be disposed of after each surgical use.
Shortcomings of devices such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,020,912 and growing recognition of the need to steady the surgeon's hand in such delicate operations as ear, nose, and throat surgery led to the instant inventor's creation of the coil spring device disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,485. While the device of this prior patent functions adequately, there is considerable room for improvement in that the device presents significant manufacturing obstacles, as well as difficulties in use. There has yet to be devised a satisfactory, inexpensive method of securing the coil spring inside the speculum without having the ends of the spring protruding through the wall of the speculum and extending beyond the outer surface thereof. It is also somewhat difficult to properly insert the shank of the surgical instrument between the coils of the coil spring. These and other difficulties hindered widespread utilization of what is basically a very sound and useful concept.